Over the last four months or so, we’ve seen the questions around the 2017 Chicago Fire evolve from “Can this team compete?” to “Oh man, is this team actually kind of good?”, then to “Maybe they’re really very good indeed?”, and finally to “Is this a potentially great team? Could it be the best Fire team ever?”
Any claimant to Fire greatness, at this point in our history, will have one true measuring stick: The greatest expansion-team success in sports history, the 1998 Chicago Fire, our all-conquering nutjobs from MLS’ Dark Ages, shootouts and short shorts and a countdown clock, oh my.